


Last Goodbye

by GlowingArrowsInTheSky



Series: But the Earth Refused to Die [9]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Grouptale (Undertale), Canon-Typical Violence, Family, Gen, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-17 13:48:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 16,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29472723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GlowingArrowsInTheSky/pseuds/GlowingArrowsInTheSky
Summary: Five years after the barrier was broken, the seven fallen humans have tried to reassemble the lives they left behind when they fell down. However, when one of their siblings disappears one late summer morning, leaving behind nothing but an unsettling note, the other humans wind up returning to Mt. Ebott to bring their sibling back. With the begrudging advice of an unexpected ally, the fallen humans delve into the hidden corners of the underground, encountering monsters they've never seen before and uncovering secrets they never expected to find. Will the seven humans be able to reach the other end of the mountain in one piece again, or has their time on the surface left them unable to handle the challenges of the underground?Updates Sundays at 4PM EST
Series: But the Earth Refused to Die [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/569137
Comments: 6
Kudos: 5





	1. Once Upon a Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! This is going to be the final fic for my grouptale series. For the past five years, I've loved everything about building these characters and exploring the Undertale world through their eyes, but it's time for me to bring it to an end. If you've been a fan of this series for a while, thank you so much for supporting my works. If you're new here, welcome and I hope you'll read the whole series as well. Writing this fic has been very difficult for me, and I'm anticipating posting it will be difficult as well. Please, keep your comments kind and lend me your support one last time as I send my grouptale kids off into the sunset. Thank you!

Bell crammed a stack of sweaters into her suitcase, even though it was already vomiting clothes in protest of being packed so full. The side of the room Bell shared with Laurel was stripped down to the bare minimum needed to signify the space was claimed. Every picture frame and knickknack, every decoration and scrap of clothing had all been packed into boxes (and one extremely overworked suitcase) in anticipation of the day Bell left for college. A day that, to Bell’s excitement, was less than a week away.

Laurel, on the other hand, was less than excited by the encroaching threat that was Bell’s departure. As Bell’s sibling and closest friend, Laurel felt a certain duty to be supportive of Bell no matter what. However, as the days counting down to when Bell would leave home grew smaller and smaller in number, Laurel found themself unable to muster one iota of enthusiasm at the prospect of losing the person they were closest to in the house. The warring emotions within Laurel had left them riddled with guilt, leading them to devote much more of their manual labor to packing up Bell’s room than they normally would have. After Laurel taped up yet another box that Bell had meticulously labelled “stuff,” they checked off an item on the to-do list they’d written in the notebook they took with them everywhere.

“I think that just about does it for packing up all your random junk,” Laurel remarked, turning to look at Bell, who had climbed on top of their bulging suitcase in an attempt to zip it shut.

“Don’t say ‘junk’ in that judgmental voice,” Bell said, splaying themself across their suitcase like a drunken starfish as they wrangled with the zipper. “If I were helping you pack, how would you feel if I called all those books of yours junk, huh? Wouldn’t feel too good, would it?”

“That scenario requires me to believe A) that you’d actually help me pack, and B) that I’d actually have an occasion to pack up all of my books,” Laurel said with a nod to their side of the room, where teetering stacks of books lined the walls for lack of a bookshelf big enough to house them all.

“Well, since you’re not going anywhere, get down on this suitcase and help me get it closed,” Bell said.

Laurel rolled their eyes, but sank down onto the suitcase with Bell. Together, the two of them bore their weight down on the massive stack of clothes until Bell finally managed to yank the zipper shut. When they were done, Bell and Laurel collapsed on each other. Staring up at the ceiling, Laurel tracked the trail of glow-in-the-dark stars Bell had stuck up there when they’d first moved into that room. An intense sadness struck Laurel in the chest.

“I can’t believe you’re leaving,” Laurel said.

“Me either,” Bell agreed.

“Why’d you have to pick a college so far away? There are plenty of good dance programs at schools right here.”

“I’ve wanted to go to this school since I was a little kid,” Bell said in a dreamy voice. “Even before I fell down, I always wanted to get into this dance program and now’s my shot. I already had to put it off for a year because I didn’t get in when I was eighteen. I’ve got to do it. I’ll regret it forever if I don’t.”

“Forever, huh?” Laurel turned their head and quirked one eyebrow at Bell. “Sounds pretty serious.”

“Oh, it is, I assure you,” Bell said, tucking one stray lock of coily hair back into the high-piled bun on top of her head. “Speaking of forever, that reminds me, I have something for you.”

Bell reared her legs back over her head and then brought them forward quickly, launching herself onto her feet. Darting across the room, Bell dug around in her nightstand and pulled something small out that she hid behind her back before coming back over to Laurel. “Hold your hand out and close your eyes,” Bell instructed, an excited grin on her face.

Laurel sat up on the suitcase with a sigh, extending one hand out before closing their eyes. Usually, Laurel hated surprises, but right then they were quite willing to play along with Bell’s games. Something cool and heavy dropped into their hand and Laurel opened their eyes. For a second, Laurel didn’t recognize the item resting in their palm, but then they caught sight of the Delta Rune etched into the golden surface and suddenly realized what Bell had given them.

“Chara’s locket?” Laurel asked, flipping the heart-shaped case open to reveal the words “Best Friends Forever” engraved on the inside.

“Had to swindle Frisk into giving it to me. Eventually, I convinced them that you needed it more than they did,” Bell said. “Well? Aren’t you gonna put it on?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah.” Laurel hooked the chain around their neck, adjusting the locket so it was perfectly centered. It was a nice gesture and Laurel felt as if they should have been more moved by it, but for some reason, having that locket around their neck made Laurel feel even worse about Bell leaving than they had before. _Sharing this moment with Bell should make me happy_ , Laurel thought. _I should be happy but I’m not._ Still, Laurel couldn’t bring themself to tell Bell how rotten they felt, so they forced a smile onto their face. “Thanks, Bell,” they said. “This means a lot to me.”

If Bell noticed the shift in Laurel’s mood, she didn’t say anything. Bell simply leaned over and threw her arms around Laurel, giving them a quick hug before prancing out of the room, calling something over her shoulder about meeting up with Blue to get her stuff from her parents’ house. Once Bell was gone, Laurel sagged against the suitcase they were still laying on. Flopping onto their back, Laurel stared up at those star stickers, as if they held all of the answers they would ever need.

“What’s wrong with me?” Laurel wondered.

* * *

“You know, when I agreed to help you move some stuff to the car, I didn’t realize I was signing up to be your personal Igor,” Alex groaned as they struggled down the stairs of theirs and Robin’s apartment building, arms full of oversized cardboard tubes that were full of posters.

“Quit whining,” Robin blew a strand of orange hair out of their eyes, both hands occupied by the two storage cases full of lights they were carrying. “This crap was delivered here last week, you knew what you were getting yourself into.”

“I thought you were finally redecorating that room of yours,” Alex said. “Why did they deliver this stuff to our place anyways?”

“I told you already. Hop’s mom needs it for some fundraiser dinner at the country club–” Robin made sure to add a note of disdain on the words “country club” and punctuated it with an eyeroll that Alex couldn’t see since he was in front of them. “–and for whatever reason, they couldn’t store it there. So, being the fool that I am, I volunteered to store it at our apartment until the day of.”

“Well, I’m glad you admit to being a fool,” Alex said. They shoved the door at the bottom of the stairs open and stepped out into the building’s parking lot. Robin let out a yelp as the heavy door slammed shut against them. Kicking out with one foot, Robin forced the door open enough to squeeze outside without getting crushed.

“Thanks for holding the door for me!” Robin shouted to Alex, who was already halfway across the parking lot.

“You’re so welcome!” Alex called back over their shoulder, sticking their tongue out at Robin.

Suppressing the urge to throw one of the heavy black cases in their hands at Alex’s head, Robin let out a low grumble and followed Alex to where their car was parked. As Alex crammed poster tubes into the trunk, Robin shoved the cases onto the floor of the backseat. There were already several other boxes on the seats and the floor, leaving only the driver and shotgun seats empty. Robin collapsed into the driver’s seat with a sigh, closing the door behind them. A second later, Alex closed the trunk and came climbing into the passenger side. Alex opened their mouth like they were about to make a smartass comment, but was cut off by their cell phone ringing. Taking the phone out of their pocket, Alex checked who was calling.

“It’s Laurel,” Alex said.

“Really? We just saw them a couple nights ago for dinner, I hope nothing’s wrong,” Robin said, grasping their long hair in both hands and pulling it off the back of their neck for a small reprieve from the summer heat.

“I’ll put it on speaker,” Alex said, picking up the call. “Hey, Laurel, you’re on speaker.”

“Is Robin there, too?” Laurel asked.

“Yeah, we’re both sweating like pigs after moving a metric fuckton of crap for Hop’s mom out to our car,” Alex said. “What’s up with you?”

“Uh, nothing,” Laurel said. “Finally finished helping Bell pack up their stuff for college. They’re spending the night at Blue’s so they can force him to pack for them, too, I guess.”

“I see.” Alex gave Robin a look, which Robin returned with a look of their own.

“Laurel, is everything alright?” Robin asked. “Alex and I are in the car, we could come over and–”

“No, no, I’m fine,” Laurel said too quickly. “Really. Nothing’s wrong, I was just checking in.”

Robin and Alex exchanged another look, communicating with nothing but a few raised eyebrows and curls of their lips. Both of them agreed that something was off about Laurel’s demeanor, but they also knew that the harder Laurel got pushed, the less willing they became to open up about anything.

“Alright, if you say so. You know me, I’m probably just worrying too much,” Robin said with what they hoped sounded like an easygoing laugh.

“Well, I wouldn’t want to give you a heart attack,” Laurel joked, but their voice still sounded sad. “You guys should go, I don’t want to make you late dropping that stuff off or anything.”

“Okay, but we’ll see you soon,” Alex said. “We’re having that big party at the end of the week to send Bell off, right?”

Robin elbowed Alex for reminding Laurel of Bell leaving. Alex suppressed their groan of pain, but shot Robin a look so dirty it would curdle a bottle of bleach.

“And after that, you should come over to our place for a weekend,” Robin added. “I need someone to give me a break from Alex once in a while, and you’re welcome any time.”

“Yeah, that sounds good,” Laurel said. “I’ll see you guys soon. Bye.”

Robin and Alex said goodbye in unison, then Laurel hung up.

“Okay, something’s up with them,” Alex said, bouncing their leg up and down.

“Definitely,” Robin agreed, biting at the skin around their fingernails.

“What should we do?” Alex asked.

Robin thought for a minute, then nodded their head as if they’d found the only logical solution available. They took out their phone and opened their messaging app.

“I’m texting Mom,” Robin said.

* * *

Toriel tucked her phone away and stood up from her desk. She had been in the midst of grading papers, but Robin’s text had shifted her priorities. Leaving her study, Toriel began poking around the house for signs of Laurel. After not finding Laurel in any of their usual reading nooks, Toriel went down into the kitchen. Laurel was leaned up against the refrigerator, sifting through a box of tea with a bored expression.

“Hello, my child,” Toriel said. “Is everything alright?”

“Um, yes? I’m just waiting for the kettle to boil,” Laurel said, gesturing to the bright yellow tea kettle on top of the stove.

“Ah, allow me,” Toriel said. With the snap of her fingers, Toriel sent a magic bundle of fire over to the stovetop. Within seconds, the kettle began to whistle.

“Thanks,” Laurel said, taking the kettle off the burner and pouring the freshly boiled water into their mug. As their tea steeped, Laurel kept their back to Toriel, watching the brown color of the tea leaves bleed into the water.

“You seem troubled, dear one,” Toriel said. “Is there anything you’d like to tell me?”

“Nope,” Laurel said.

“Well, I am always here if you need someone to talk to,” Toriel said.

“Got it,” Laurel nodded, still not turning around.

“You know, I was thinking…” Toriel said. “…maybe you should give those scholarship offers another look? You might find a school that you like.”

Laurel rolled their eyes at the ceiling before turning around to face Toriel. “Mom, I told you before, I don’t want to go away to college.”

“It could be an adventure, a chance for you to meet new people,” Toriel said gently. “You could find a school close to home so you could commute, like Alex did.”

“Alex doesn’t live at home,” Laurel said, grabbing their mug and storming out of the kitchen before Toriel could say another word.

Laurel made a beeline for the stairs, desperately needing to put a locked door between themself and the rest of the world. They could feel tears beginning to choke their throat and they refused to cry in front of anyone. Halfway up the stairs, Twain appeared at the top of the staircase and began heading down. Twain had been fiddling with one of their long twists, but when they saw Laurel, they flung their hair behind their shoulders and smiled.

“Hey, Laurel, want to come to the movies with me?” Twain asked. “I’m meeting Dex and Jane there, we’re going to see that new animated-”

“No, I can’t, I’m busy,” Laurel said, rushing past Twain without so much as looking them in the eyes.

“Oh, alright,” Twain said, sounding disappointed. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine, everything’s fine,” Laurel said, scurrying away before Twain could ask them any follow up questions.

When Laurel made it to the top of the stairs, they let out a sigh of relief. They could see their bedroom up ahead, they only had to walk a few more steps before they could be alone. Of course, Laurel hadn’t taken more than two steps when Hop burst out of the woodwork holding a list in their hands that they shoved in Laurel’s face.

“Laurel, will you take me shopping for school supplies?” Hop asked, their triangle-shaped earrings swinging around wildly as they bounced up and down with a shopping list in hand. “I’m supposed to start my sophomore year of high school next week, and I don’t know what half this stuff is. Like, what the hell is a graphing calculator? Who ever heard of that? I’m begging you, Laurel, help a sibling out.”

“I can’t right now, Hop, sorry,” Laurel said, pushing the supply list out of their face and continuing the never-ending journey to their room. When Laurel was two steps away from their bedroom door, Frisk poked their head out from within their own room and stopped Laurel.

“Are you alright?” Frisk signed. Since Frisk spoke mainly through sign language, they relied on their facial expressions to communicate how they were feeling. With their wrinkled brow and slight frown, Frisk looked deeply concerned as they waited for Laurel's reply.

“Yes, I’m fine!” Laurel exclaimed. “Now, will everyone just leave me alone!?”

With that, Laurel closed the distance between them and their room, slamming the door shut behind them. Setting their mug of tea down on their desk so hard they were surprised it didn’t break, Laurel flopped facedown on their bed. Laurel unleashed a frustrated scream, muffling it against the nearest pillow. No tears came to their eyes, despite previous warning signs; so, Laurel laid on their bed in motionless misery for what felt like ages.

By the time Laurel got up, the sky was darkening into twilight, the cicadas singing in dissonant harmonies as the day came to a close. Sitting down at their desk, Laurel found their tea had gone cold, but it hardly mattered. Opening the top drawer, Laurel took out a stack of letters and began to leaf through them. Each letter was from a different university, each one offering Laurel huge scholarships to come study there. Not a single letter stood out to Laurel, who hadn’t even applied to half of the schools that had written them; time apart from those generous offers hadn’t changed Laurel’s feelings about them. Although Laurel loved to learn, they hated the idea of leaving home to do it. Even Alex, who went to school close enough to home to commute, had ended up moving out along with Robin. Laurel hated the changes that came with getting older, and it felt like they were the only one who did. Everyone else seemed so excited about each new opportunity that came their way, it made Laurel feel like a baby who couldn’t handle anything new. Eventually, everyone would get sick of Laurel holding them back and leave them behind for good.

“Even Toriel’s trying to get rid of me,” Laurel muttered as they tossed the college letters aside. Laurel glanced at Bell’s side of the room, their gut wrenching at the emptiness that now lived in the space their best friend had once occupied. Opening the middle drawer of their desk, Laurel dug around past the heaps of junk they kept in there until they reached the very back of the drawer. Their fingers closed around something cool and rectangular, something Laurel hadn’t reached for in a long time. Pulling the mint tin out, Laurel flipped the lid open. The razor blades inside were old and rusted after years of not being used. Laurel looked at the faded scars on their right arm, then back at the sad tin of razor blades. Snapping the lid shut, Laurel tossed the tin into the trash can by their desk. Hurting themself wouldn’t be enough, they decided. But what would?

Laurel stalked to the window with a huff. Crossing their arms over their chest, Laurel stood pondering what their course of action should be as they stared at the sinking sun. As Laurel stood at the window, their fingers worked their way idly up to the locket still hanging around their neck. When Laurel realized what they were twiddling, they gave a soft gasp. Holding the locket up for inspection, Laurel suddenly knew what they were going to do.

At that same moment, Hop came knocking at Laurel’s door, calling out that dinner was ready. Laurel replied that they would be down in a minute, and listened for the sound of Hop’s metal foot clunking on the stairs. Laurel came out of their room and crossed casually over to Frisk’s door, preparing a list of excuses as they opened the door without knocking. To Laurel’s relief, Frisk wasn’t in their room. Laurel knew exactly what they were looking for and went straight to Frisk’s bedside table. The dagger Frisk had found in New Home was carefully placed inside the table’s otherwise empty drawer. Laurel took the knife out, went back to their room, and hid the knife under their mattress. Then, Laurel went down to dinner.

After pretending like everything was fine through dinner, Laurel went back up to their room. Once everyone else in the house had gone to sleep, Laurel got ready as quietly as possible. They tugged on jeans and their favorite dark purple turtleneck, which immediately made them sweat in the late summer heat, but it didn’t matter. Laurel knew that where they were going, it would be much cooler. Caught up in the drama of the moment, Laurel scribbled a quick note that they left on their pillow. Laurel powered their phone down and left it in the top drawer of their desk, not wanting to be reachable at all. Then, tucking their notebook in their back pocket and the knife they’d stolen from Frisk into their boot, Laurel crept out of the house. Laurel was so self-assured of their own stealth, that they felt no need to make sure they hadn’t been noticed. But if Laurel had bothered to look up at the house, they would have seen Frisk peering down at them from their bedroom window, watching them disappear into the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Character Name/Age/Attribute
> 
> Robin/23/Patience  
> Alex/21/Bravery  
> Bell/19/Integrity  
> Laurel/18/Perseverance  
> Twain/17/Kindness  
> Hop/16/Justice  
> Frisk/13/Determination


	2. Your Best Friend

Hop woke up the next morning thinking about Laurel. Turning over in bed, Hop glanced first at the hazy sky outside, still yet to lighten with dawn, then at the clock on their bedside table. It was too early, Hop decided, and rolled over to go back to sleep.

Hop’s eyes sprang open after a total of twelve seconds. They couldn’t sleep. For some reason, each time Hop tried to settle their mind, their thoughts kept drifting back to Laurel. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for Laurel to be reserved and serious, but something about their behavior the previous day had put Hop off. Laurel was usually all too eager to help their siblings out when asked, and they never snapped at their family unless something was bothering them. At dinner, Laurel had seemed fine, but Hop knew that their sibling had a tendency to bury things to avoid being vulnerable.

Hop checked the time again, shocked to find only a couple of minutes had passed. Throwing back the covers, Hop sat up in bed with a nod of determination.

“Laurel is just going to have to deal with me now,” Hop said. After attaching their prosthetic foot, Hop snuck across their bedroom and began opening the door with painstaking slowness so the hinges wouldn’t squeak. Slipping out into the hallway, Hop held their breath as they turned around, and immediately bumped into another person.

Hop’s hands flew blindly at the other person’s face at the same time the other person’s hands clapped over Hop’s mouth, each person trying to keep the other from screaming. It wasn’t until both parties were a tangle of wrists and elbows that Hop blinked in the darkness and saw that the other person was Twain.

“What are you doing up?” Hop whispered, withdrawing their hands from Twain’s face.

“I could ask you the same question,” Twain said.

“Well, don’t, I asked it first,” Hop said.

“Fine. I’m going to check on Laurel,” Twain said. “I can’t explain it, but I woke up thinking about them and I got worried, so I’m going to see if they’re alright.”

“Oh my gosh, I am literally doing the same thing,” Hop said. “I woke up and all I could think about was Laurel.”

“Really?” Twain raised their eyebrows. “Looks like our brains are on the same wavelength.”

“Honestly, I’d be more surprised if this thing hadn’t happened to us all the time when we shared a room,” Hop said, recalling the times Twain and them had both woken up after having eerily similar nightmares. “But if our brains got together to tell both of us to go check on Laurel, it must be serious.”

“That’s what I was thinking,” Twain agreed, nodding towards Laurel’s door. “Let’s go.”

Without further ado, Hop and Twain made their way to Laurel’s bedroom door. Not bothering to knock, Hop opened the door a crack and peeked inside. Once Hop saw Laurel’s empty bed, they pushed the door open the rest of the way so Twain could see.

“They’re not here,” Twain stated the obvious, stepping into the empty room.

“Laurel’s bed is all made like they didn’t even sleep in it,” Hop remarked, going over Laurel’s bed to examine it more closely. In the sparse light of early morning, Hop spied something amiss upon the meticulously tucked covers. Laying on the pillow was a folded note. Hop recognized the paper the second they picked the note up, it was a page that had been torn from Laurel’s notebook.

“What’s that?” Twain asked, sidling up to Hop.

“Looks like a note from Laurel,” Hop said, unfolding the paper to reveal Laurel’s signature scrawl. Hop turned on the reading lamp clipped to the bed, then held the note so both Twain and them could read it at the same time.

> _This place doesn’t feel like home anymore. I don’t belong here. I’m leaving and never coming back. Goodbye forever._
> 
> _Laurel_

When Hop and Twain finished reading the letter, they looked at each other with matching bewildered expressions. Neither seemed to be able to figure out what to say, each one waiting for the other to speak. Twain took the note from Hop’s hands and held it closer to the light, examining the writing carefully.

“Do you think there’s invisible ink? Or a coded message?” Hop asked.

“No. Laurel’s fountain pen takes forever to dry, I’m seeing if – Aha!” Twain pointed to the paper for Hop to inspect. “Where they signed their name is still slightly wet. They can’t have written this note that long ago.”

“Right,” Hop nodded. “And they would have waited to leave until everyone else was asleep. Plus, they’d be on foot. So, there’s a chance they haven’t gotten far.”

“The only question that remains is…” Twain turned the note over in their hands, as if there might be a coded message hidden somewhere on it after all. “…where did they go?”

* * *

The sky was beginning to lighten as Laurel hiked up the trail to the site of the barrier’s destruction, the rising sun in their eyes. After leaving home, Laurel had walked then taken a bus and then walked some more to reach their destination. The easiest way into the underground, now that the barrier was destroyed, was in through where everyone trapped had left. So, instead of heading for the chasm in Mt. Ebott that led into the Ruins, Laurel was heading for New Home.

At the entrance to the underground, Laurel took a moment to look behind them. Far in the distance, Laurel could see the peak of Mt. Ebott being illuminated by the first rays of dawn sunlight. Taking a deep breath, Laurel turned their back on the overworld and headed underground.

* * *

Robin sat up straight in bed with a gasp, clutching at their chest. Their heart was beating so hard that Robin could hear it pounding. Wait. Wait, no. Robin listened carefully. The pounding wasn’t coming from their heart at all. There was someone knocking at their apartment door.

In the next room over, Robin could hear Alex leaping out of bed with an alarmed grunt followed by the frantic scrabble of his feet against the floor. Robin got out of bed as well, hurrying out of their room at the same time as Alex. The two siblings looked at each other with the hazy recognition of those whose brains are still addled with sleep.

“There’s someone at the door,” Robin stated the obvious.

“Fucking hell,” Alex groaned, pressing his palms into his eye sockets. “Who could that be at this hour?”

“What hour even is it?” Robin asked, looking out the window at the stars still in the sky. “It’s barely dawn, what on-“

The banging on the door became louder, as if there were multiple fists pounding on it at once.

“Alright, alright!” Robin exclaimed, stumbling over to the door in the dark.

“Hold on,” Alex staggered over to the umbrella holder and grabbed the glowing spear Undyne had given them in case of emergencies. “Okay, go on.”

Robin opened the door to find Twain, Hop, and Frisk standing with all of their fists raised mid-knock. When the three younger siblings saw Robin, they flooded into the apartment, quickly making themselves at home on the sofa.

“What on earth?” Robin shut the door and flipped on a light. “What are you guys doing banging on our door like that this early in the morning? You almost gave me a heart attack.”

“We’re sorry, Robin,” Twain said.

“But we need to talk to you guys,” Hop added.

“How did you three even get in the building?” Alex asked, setting his spear back in the umbrella holder.

“You made us keys,” Frisk signed, holding up their keyring.

“Then why did you knock to be let in here?” Robin asked, dropping into an armchair with a tired sigh.

“We didn’t want you to think someone was breaking in,” Hop said.

“Well, it worked. Instead, we just thought the whole damn world had come to an end,” Alex said, sitting down in the chair next to Robin’s.

“Now, what did you need to talk to us about?” Robin asked.

“Laurel ran away,” Twain said, handing Robin the note Laurel had left behind.

“What?” Alex furrowed his brow, leaning over to read the note alongside Robin.

“Twain and I both woke up to check on Laurel and we found that,” Hop explained. “We don’t think they left that long ago, so we came here because we need your help.”

“I knew something was wrong,” Robin muttered, reading the note over a second time. “Did Toriel see this?”

“No, we snuck out of the house,” Twain said. “We didn’t want to tell her, because we think we know where Laurel went.”

“Where is that?” Alex asked.

“Frisk saw something,” Hop said, nudging their sibling with their elbow. “Tell them.”

“I saw Laurel leave,” Frisk signed, their hand motions slower than they needed to be. “I didn’t tell anyone because I didn’t want to get them in trouble. But when Hop and Twain woke me up and showed me the note, I realized they were already in trouble. I checked my bedside table drawer and the knife I got in New Home is gone. I think Laurel went back to the underground.”

Everyone was quiet in the wake of Frisk’s confession. Frisk was doing their best to sink into the couch cushions, their expression rife with the guilt of not telling what they knew sooner. Hop and Twain exchanged anxious glances, each one unsure of what the next step was. Alex was worrying a strand of hair between his fingers, staring into space. Robin sat with a hand over their mouth, gazing worriedly at the note they still held.

“We need to go after them,” Robin said at last, standing up. “But first, we need to go get Bell.”

* * *

_Plink…plink…plink…_

Bell was warm in their twin bed in their childhood home, snuggled in among the battalion of stuffed animals they couldn’t bear to get rid of. Dreams of ballet shoes and rounds of applause leaped and twirled through their head, while Bell remained blissfully unaware of the world around them.

_Plink…plink…plink…_

Bell blinked their eyes open, still unaware of the separation between dreams and reality. Stretching in their bed, Bell smiled to themself. As their dreams faded, Bell looked to the window, surprised to see how dark the sky still was. Bell was not an early riser by nature, and they wondered what could have possibly woken them up, until-

_Plink…plink…plink…_

“Blue, are you awake?” Bell whispered across the room to where their twin brother lay in his twin bed.

“No,” Blue mumbled, pulling the covers up over their head.

Bell grabbed the nearest stuffed animal, an elephant wearing a tutu, and chucked it at their twin. Blue threw the elephant right back at Bell, but sat up in bed nonetheless.

“What do you want?” Blue hissed.

“Do you hear that?” Bell asked, pausing for the plinks to return.

“It’s probably just rain or something, Bell,” Blue yawned. “Go back to sleep.”

“I don’t think so,” Bell said, getting out of bed and crossing to the window. As Bell put their hands on the windowpane, a small pebble hit against the glass, making a soft plink before falling to the ground. Bell looked down to the lawn and saw Alex standing underneath their window, holding a handful of pebbles from Bell’s mother’s garden. When Alex realized they’d finally caught Bell’s attention, they waved for Bell to come down. Bell opened the window instead, pressing their face against the screen to glare at their sibling.

“Do you know what time it is?” Bell whispered as loudly as they could.

“We tried calling you a ton of times,” Alex whispered back, a frantic edge to their words. “What’s wrong with you? Don’t you ever answer your phone?”

“I had it turned off because I was a-fucking-sleep,” Bell snapped.

“What if there was an emergency?” Alex shot back.

“Who is it?” Blue asked, coming to stand by Bell’s side.

“It’s stupid Alex,” Bell said with a roll of their eyes. Then, they turned their attention back to stupid Alex. “What emergency could there possibly be that’s so important you couldn’t leave it until morning? ‘Cause I’m dying to hear.”

“Laurel ran away, we need to go find them,” Alex said, jamming a thumb over their shoulder. Alex and Robin’s car was idling at the curb. Bell could see the faces of the rest of their siblings pressed up against the car windows.

“I’ll be right down,” Bell said, then turned away from the window.

Bell flitted around the room in a frenzy, trying to turn their phone on, get dressed, and pull their hair up all at the same time. They pulled on a dark blue V-neck and an old pair of shorts, two of the only articles of clothing they hadn’t packed away for dance school yet. Bell finished tying their hair up as their phone powered on, they watched as message notifications from their siblings lit up the screen. Bell only skimmed a few texts, but got the gist of what happened enough to feel their heartbeat quicken.

“Bell, what’s going on?” Blue asked.

“I’ve gotta go find Laurel, that’s what’s going on,” Bell said, tying the blue straps of their sandals. “Will you cover for me?”

“Cover for you?” Blue furrowed his brow. “If Laurel ran away, shouldn’t we tell our parents?”

“Uh, no, we shouldn’t,” Bell said. “I have to go back underground to look for them.”

“What? Why?” Blue demanded.

“Apparently, that’s where we think they ran away to,” Bell said, reading one of the texts from their siblings. “If that’s where they are, we’ll be back in a few hours, so there’s no reason to worry Mom or Dad or Toriel, okay? You know I’m right.”

“Actually, I don’t, because I think you’re wrong.”

“Come on, Blue, please?” Bell pleaded. “If we’re not back by tonight, you can tell them whatever you want, but you’ve got to give us a head start.”

Blue stood with his arms crossed, his expression apprehensive. But eventually, he relinquished a sigh, letting his arms drop to his sides.

“Fine,” he said. “But if I don’t hear from you by sunset, I’m telling everyone where you went.”

“Thank you,” Bell said, giving their brother a quick hug before hustling to the door. “I’ll see you soon, Blue.”

“See you soon,” Blue said.

Bell snuck downstairs as quietly as they could, wishing they’d waited to put their shoes on until they were outside. But they managed to make it to the front door without getting caught, and were soon turning out into the damp morning air. Alex had gotten back into the car and gestured for Bell to hurry up from the passenger’s seat. Bell scurried across the lawn and climbed into the car, dropping into the first empty seat they spied.

Robin, who was usually the safest driver on the road, was off like a shot the second Bell’s seatbelt clicked into place. The packed car skidded off towards Mt. Ebott, Robin swerving through the mercifully empty suburban streets at top speed.

“When did you find out they’d gone missing?” Bell asked.

“About an hour ago,” Twain said, handing Bell Laurel’s note.

“And they went back to the underground?” Bell said as they read.

“We’re pretty sure,” Hop nodded. “Frisk said Laurel took Chara’s knife with them, and look–” Hop leaned over to point at Laurel’s note. “They wrote about this place not feeling like home. If they were feeling homesick, where else would they go but to Home in the Ruins?”

“I guess that tracks,” Bell said, shaking their head at the scenery rushing past the windows. “It just doesn’t seem like Laurel to do something like this.”

“Yeah, when has Laurel ever done anything dramatic?” Alex snorted.

“No, I mean, if they were planning on running away, why wouldn’t they tell me?” Bell wondered. “I get them not telling the rest of you, but Laurel tells me everything.”

“You really don’t have any idea?” Alex asked, looking at Bell like they didn’t quite believe her.

“Please, tell me what I’m missing,” Bell said, making an exasperated gesture with her arms.

“Laurel is upset that you’re leaving for college,” Alex said. “They feel like you’re ditching them, so they decided to beat you to it.”

“Oh, so, it’s all my fault?” Bell pressed her hands to her chest.

“It’s not just you, Bell,” Twain said. “I think all of us have done something to make Laurel feel abandoned, otherwise, they wouldn’t have run away. So, it’s up to all of us to fix it.”

“Twain is right,” Robin spoke for the first time since Bell had entered the car. “There’s no point in playing the blame game. Let’s just get to the mountain and back before Toriel finds out.”

That was something that all of the siblings could agree on.

* * *

The dark passage leading underground was exactly the same as when Laurel had walked out of it with their siblings five years ago. Laurel passed through the stonework hall that they’d processed through on their way to fight Asgore with Bell, shuddering at the memory. Then, Laurel turned left and they were in the Throne Room.

Golden flowers bloomed all around, in greater multitudes than there had been the last time Laurel had been there. Even without someone there to tend to the garden, the golden flowers refused to die. Seeds caught on Laurel’s jeans as they stepped through the flowers, holding on tight and not letting go. As Laurel crossed the room, an onrush of peace settled in their chest. Finally, they were in a place where they knew what to expect, a place where they were safe. Laurel reached the Throne Room’s doorway and sighed. It was good to be home.

“What the hell are you doing back here?”

Laurel gasped and spun around. The voice that had spoken was one Laurel hadn’t heard in years, but was so familiar to them that they recognized it at once. Scanning the expanse of golden flowers, Laurel searched for the sinister grin that went with that snide voice.

“Down here, four eyes.”

Perched inches from their toes, Laurel saw Flowey grinning up at them.

“I thought those glasses were supposed to make you see better,” Flowey taunted.

“I thought you were supposed to be less annoying after we, you know, let you live,” Laurel shot back, that old flame of disdain for Flowey reigniting in their chest. Asriel had asked Laurel and their siblings not to think of Flowey as him, a task which Laurel found remarkably easy. The two were nothing alike.

“As if you and your goody-goody siblings would’ve had the guts to kill me in the first place,” Flowey scoffed. “Speaking of which, where are the rest of them?”

“They’re not here,” Laurel said, crouching down so they were closer to Flowey’s eye level. “I came alone.”

Flowey gave a low whistle. “Look who thinks they can handle this place all by themself now!”

“What’s there to handle?” Laurel asked. “Most of the monsters have left and the ones who haven’t think of me as one of the heroes who helped free the underground.”

“You really are an idiot,” Flowey shook his head. “You don’t know anything about what’s left down here.”

“And you do?”

“Of course I know,” Flowey said. “I know everything about this place. Your puny brain couldn’t handle a fraction of the knowledge I have about the underground.”

“Great, then you won’t mind coming along to help me out,” Laurel said.

“Wait, what?”

Before Flowey could comprehend what Laurel had said to him, Laurel’s hands snatched around Flowey’s stem. Hauling upwards, Laurel began to pull Flowey straight out of the ground.

“Hey! Let go of me, you freak,” Flowey shrieked, thrashing about as Laurel tugged at him. Laurel was undeterred by Flowey’s struggles, eventually managing to yank him out by the roots. Gripping Flowey tight in one hand, Laurel held him up so the two of them were eye-to-eye.

“You’ll be less trouble where I can see you,” Laurel said as they stood up.

“You’ve got a weird fixation on pulling me out of the ground,” Flowey seethed, his roots whipping at the empty air. “What are you gonna do? Carry me around with you everywhere?”

“Yes, actually,” Laurel said. “That’s exactly what I’m gonna do.”

“When you die down here, I’m going to take your soul and kill everyone you love,” Flowey threatened.

“Good luck with that,” Laurel said, then began walking out of the Throne Room. After a few steps, Flowey let out a long-suffering groan, his stem wilting dramatically.

“You know, if you’re going to be dragging me along with you, you could at least answer my question,” Flowey said. “What are you doing down here?”

“I’m going home,” Laurel answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're enjoying the fic so far. I posted these first two chapters at the same time, but from now on I'm going to post one chapter a week. Stay tuned!


	3. Small Shock

The sun had begun to rise by the time the six other humans reached Mt. Ebott. The walk from the car to the mountain had been rife with memories that ranged from unpleasant to downright traumatic. It was the unspoken reason none of the fallen humans had come back to the underground before this point; no matter how much things had turned out for the better, the horrible circumstances that put the humans in the underground in the first place could never be erased. Only Robin, who had been thrown down the waterfall that led to the garbage dump, seemed unaffected by the approach towards the mountain and in fact appeared to be somewhat excited when they finally reached the fabled cavern where the rest of their siblings had fallen down.

“So this is what the entrance through the mountain looks like,” Robin remarked, staring down the neck of the chasm.

“Robin, be careful,” Twain, who was hanging back by the mouth of the cavern, warned. With one glance over their shoulder, Robin could see the nerves riddled through Twain’s every movement. Looking around at the others, Robin remembered that this place might not hold as much excitement for their siblings as it did for them.

“Sorry, Twain,” Robin said, taking a few steps back from the edge of the drop off.

“You know, I’m surprised they never closed this off,” Alex remarked, running a hand down one of the rocky walls.

“Trust me, they tried,” Hop said. “I can’t tell you how many snooze fest town meetings my mom dragged me along to when I was a kid where they debated over closing off the mountain.”

“In a weird way, I guess it’s good that they never did,” Twain said. “If they had, none of us would have met.”

“That’s true,” Bell nodded. “Of course, if they had, none of us would have had to spend our childhood underground.”

“And all of the monsters would still be imprisoned,” Robin added.

“Right, pros and cons aside, the question now is: How are we going to get down there?” Alex asked.

Robin peered over the edge of the chasm and shrugged. “Can’t we just jump?”

“Uh, no,” Bell said. “When I fell down, I broke my leg. I’m not chancing that this time by throwing myself down that hole willy-nilly.”

“We should have brought something to climb with,” Alex said.

“Yeah, because that worked out so well for you last time,” Robin said.

“It’s not my fault that rope was ancient, it was all I could get my hands on. And I did not die when it snapped, if you recall,” Alex said.

“You never shut up long enough for us to forget,” Bell scoffed.

Alex took in a sharp breath through their nose, their cheeks flaring red. “Okay, you know what-“

Hop and Frisk stood to the side, watching as their three oldest siblings devolved into a petty bickering match. Twain was still at the mouth of the cavern, now remaining back in the interest of avoiding conflict.

“You’d think now that they’re older, they wouldn’t pull this crap anymore,” Hop muttered to Frisk.

“Are you kidding?” Frisk signed, giving Hop a doubtful look. “I saw this coming from a mile away.”

Blowing a huff of air out of their cheeks, Hop kicked at a rock near their right foot. The small stone skittered across the ground until it disappeared over the edge of the chasm. The force of their metal foot caused a cloud of dirt to puff up around Hop, spattering their white socks with red dust. A shallow track remained in the ground where Hop’s toe had plowed through it. Looking from the scuffed ground to the reddened tip of their shoe, Hop felt an idea spark to life in their mind.

Hop crouched down and untied their right shoe, pulling off their sock so that their gleaming metal foot was bare. Reaching over to their ankle, Hop pressed the button there. Even though Hop didn’t use that button as often as they once did, their prosthetic foot whirred to life the instant Hop pressed it. With a quick shuffle of metal, Hop’s foot transformed into a perfect replica of one of Mettaton’s hot pink boots. Like the real Mettaton’s model, the toe of Hop’s boot tapered into a sharpened point, perfect for striking poses and skewering your enemies with. Taking an experimental swing at the ground, Hop smiled as a chunk of earth was uprooted with the force of their kick. Hop looked over at Frisk, who was smiling as well.

“I think I know how we’re going to get down there,” Hop said to Frisk. The two of them looked to where Robin, Alex, and Bell were still bickering among themselves, completely oblivious to their younger sibling’s discovery. Rolling their eyes, Hop looked over their shoulder at Twain and motioned for him to come forward. Twain, who had by all accounts been attempting to blend in with the wall, looked startled to be summoned by Hop. Nevertheless, Twain steeled himself and strode into the cavern with his bravest face on.

“What’s up?” Twain asked.

“I have an idea for how to get into the underground without jumping off a cliff, but I need yours and Frisk’s help,” Hop said.

“Okay, well, what is it?” Twain prompted.

As Hop discussed their plan with Twain and Frisk, the oldest siblings continued their petty back and forth. The fight had reached that point where the topic had diverted so completely from the original cause of discourse that no one involved could quite remember why they were fighting at all, only that they wanted to be the one to win the argument. For this reason, the three oldest siblings didn’t notice at all as the three youngest siblings tiptoed right past them and went straight for the edge of the chasm. The oldest siblings also didn’t notice as Twain and Frisk each took hold of one of Hop’s arms and lowered Hop so their legs were dangling down the long drop into the underground. It wasn’t until Hop, with all the force they could muster, began driving the tip of their foot-turned-boot into the chasm wall, loudly digging out a chunk of earth with their kick that Robin looked up to discover what the noise was and let out a horrified gasp.

“Hop! What are you doing? Get back over here right now!” Robin ordered.

“No. While you three were so busy fighting, we came up with a plan,” Hop said, delivering another savage kick to the wall. With a nod from Hop, Twain and Frisk lowered them down even further into the chasm so that only their upper torso was visible. “I’m carving handholds all the way down to the bottom of this chasm. You all are gonna climb down after me.”

“Hop, this is way too dangerous,” Robin said. “There’s no way Twain and Frisk can hold onto you the entire way down.”

“Uh, I know, that’s why I’m going to hold onto the handholds I’m making,” Hop said with a roll of their eyes.

“I actually think it’s a good idea,” Alex said. “But Hop, why don’t you let me do it? I’m a lot stronger than you.”

“Not your foot,” Hop said with a grunt, kicking out as if to punctuate their statement. “My metal foot is stronger than all of your feet combined.”

Alex opened their mouth as if they were about to disagree, then closed it into a defeated frown. “They have a point.”

“But what if you fall?” Bell asked.

“Unlike some people, I’m not worried about a broken bone,” Hop said, landing a particularly hard kick to the wall. “I thought we were doing this for Laurel, but you guys just want to make it about yourselves.”

“Okay, stop,” Robin said. “Twain, Frisk, pull Hop back up.”

Twain began to protest. “But-“

“Please, just bring them up so we can all talk,” Robin said.

Twain and Frisk went to pull Hop up, but Hop stopped them before they could.

“I’ll do it myself,” Hop said, using the holes they’d already kicked into the wall to climb out of the chasm. There was dirt all down the front of their legs, but Hop dusted it off and struck a proud pose. “See? It works fine.”

“It’s a very good plan, Hop,” Robin admitted. “I just wish you three would have told us about it before you started climbing down.”

“We would have, but you were too busy fighting,” Hop said.

“Like you always do,” Frisk added.

“We don’t always fight,” Bell said.

“You kind of do,” Twain said. “It’s hard to talk to you guys when you get like that.”

“You're right. We let the stress of the situation get to us, and we’re sorry,” Robin said. “Now, let’s all work together to figure this out.”

“We already figured it out,” Hop said, gesturing to Twain and Frisk.

“I think there might be a safer way to do it, though,” Robin said. “I don’t want you climbing down there by yourself, Hop.”

“I can handle it on my own,” Hop said.

“But you don’t have to,” Robin said.

“What’s your idea, then?” Hop asked.

“You hold onto Alex’s ankles, and they’ll climb down along with you,” Robin said. “Their arms are stronger and longer than yours, so they’ll be able to help if you lose your grip. Once you two are a good ways down, the rest of us will start climbing down, too. Either it works and we make it all the way to the bottom, or it fails and we fall down. Either way, we end up where we need to be.”

Everyone looked to Hop for their approval. Hop stood with their arms crossed, an ambivalent look on their face. Part of them was still frustrated with their older siblings for derailing the day’s mission with a stupid fight, and they were resistant to agree because of it. Then, Hop realized that if they disagreed just because they were upset with their siblings, that would be no different than starting another petty argument.

“Alright, fine, we’ll do it that way,” Hop said at last.

“I’ll follow your lead,” Alex said, stepping forward and clapping Hop on the shoulder.

It was with some trial and error that Hop and Alex hit their stride as a climbing duo, but eventually they found a way to put their plan into action. Hop climbed down as far as they could first, then Alex lowered themself down until their feet touched Hop’s hands. Then, one hand at a time, Hop took hold of their sibling’s ankles. Synchronizing their movements by Hop calling out which foot they were climbing down with, Alex and Hop began their slow descent down the chasm.

The climb wasn’t easy and it wasn’t pleasant. Many times, Hop needed to take a breather to keep up the constant tension they had to maintain so they wouldn’t fall. Alex was strong, but even they were not immune to the fatigue of climbing down at a right angle. Eventually, though, the two siblings made it far enough that the others waiting at the lip of the chasm thought it was safe to begin climbing down after them. Robin, of course, went first and picked their way cautiously down the holds Hop had carved. Frisk, as ever undaunted in the face of adventure, went down after Robin. To everyone’s surprise, Twain went down before Bell, and Bell brought up the rear.

At a certain point, the climb descended into total darkness, and it would be a lie to say the humans were not afraid. For all of them, their lives in the underground had begun in a long descent through darkness. Robin couldn’t help but remember the terror of being thrown down that waterfall so many years ago. The rest of the siblings were all reliving their own falls down Mt. Ebott as well. But in those recollections, the fallen humans realized that this time around their descent was different. This time, none of them were alone.

Finally, inevitably, darkness gave way to light. Hop saw it first, they spied a familiar bed of golden flower below them and called up to the others that they had made it. Carving the last sets of holds with renewed vigor, Hop let go of Alex’s ankles once they reached the bottom of the wall. Falling backward, Hop collapsed in the bed of flowers, letting their exhausted muscles rest at last. With their eyes closed, Hop heard the rest of their siblings drop to the ground with various whoops of triumph and sighs of relief. The plan had worked. The fallen humans were back in the underground.

* * *

The red dirt of Hotland covered Laurel from the shins down, a fresh dusting getting kicked up with each step they took. The crimson smudges down their legs made Laurel grateful they’d worn long pants, despite the fact they were sweating bullets. Even so, Laurel didn’t mind the heat too much, they knew that once they were out of Hotland, the temperature would begin to cool down. What was bothering Laurel that they hadn’t anticipated was the quiet of the underground. When Laurel had traveled these roads five years ago, there had been monsters around every corner, each one with something to say for themselves. And in the rare spots where there were no monsters to be found, Laurel’s siblings had more than managed to fill the silence.

Traveling through Hotland now, Laurel was struck by how empty it was. The only company Laurel had was Flowey, and he was doing his best to make them regret ever picking him up. Flowey had wound his roots so tight around Laurel’s wrist that their hand was turning purple, but Laurel held fast. Determined not to let their discomfort at losing feeling in their right hand show, Laurel cleared their throat and began to speak as if they hadn’t even noticed it.

“I never realized how small the underground really is. We’ve only been walking for like half an hour,” Laurel said.

“YOU’VE been walking, I’VE been being held captive,” Flowey scoffed, digging his roots a little deeper into Laurel’s skin.

“Oh, shut it, what else were you doing with your time down here?” Laurel rolled their eyes. “Not like there’s much to do now that almost everyone’s left.”

“Well, if this place is so boring, how come you came back? Huh? Riddle me that,” Flowey said. When Laurel didn’t respond immediately, Flowey grinned as if he’d won some great prize. “What? Didn’t plan past ‘run away to be melodramatic’? How fucking typical of you humans.”

“I didn’t run away to be melodramatic,” Laurel muttered, blush crawling up their neck.

“Then why did you?” Flowey asked in a voice that suggested Laurel would be mocked no matter what answer they gave.

“I just couldn’t stand being with my family anymore,” Laurel said. “Everyone has such a great life now and mine still sucks. I was sick of being reminded of that.”

“You think your life sucks? Try being turned into a flower,” Flowey said.

Laurel rounded a corner to find a familiar white building up ahead. Alphys’s lab still stood in much the same way it had five years prior, with the main difference being that there were no lights on to signify that anyone was there. Laurel approached the building with a slight frown, their relationship with Alphys had never fully recovered from Alphys’s stunt with Mettaton that had almost gotten Hop killed in the CORE. Nevertheless, Laurel would have to go through the lab if they wanted to reach Waterfall, so they walked through the doors without hesitation.

Inside the lab, Laurel groped the wall for a light switch, finding one near the doorway and flipping it on. To Laurel’s surprise, the lights came on without a hitch despite not having been used for several years. Alphys’s once cluttered desk had been cleared of its teetering stacks of papers and plastic anime figurines, leaving only a few dusty scraps of paper and pens with chewed caps behind.

“I hate this place,” Laurel said, more to themself than to Flowey.

“Me too,” Flowey said, more to himself than to Laurel.

Laurel was about to pick up their walking pace, when they passed the only door in the whole lab and it slid open automatically. Laurel paused, looking through the doorway that had been revealed. There was a small elevator compartment within.

“Is that the elevator down to the hidden lab?” Laurel asked. “I thought it was broken.”

“They probably fixed it when Alphys told everyone her failed experiments were down there,” Flowey said.

“So it works?” Laurel took an automatic step towards the compartment, their free hand coming up to tap against their chin in curiosity.

“How should I know? I don’t use elevators,” Flowey said. “For all you know, it could crash again and you’d snap your neck.”

“It didn’t kill Frisk, I think I’d survive,” Laurel said. “I always wanted to see that lab ever since Frisk told me about it. I never got around to it, there was always so much else going on with everyone moving to the surface.”

“Trust me, there’s nothing worth seeing down there,” Flowey said.

“Trust you? What kind of idiot do you take me for?” Laurel said, stepping into the elevator.

“A big one if you waste your time on this,” Flowey retorted.

“I’m in no rush,” Laurel said breezily as they pressed the button on the inside of the elevator to make it go down. As the door slid shut, Flowey glanced around in a frenzy. In a move so quick Laurel never saw it coming, Flowey sank his teeth into Laurel’s hand. Laurel cried out, opening their hand automatically. Flowey unwound himself from Laurel’s wrist, dropped to the floor, and popped out of view, sticking his tongue out at Laurel before he completely vanished.

“Big baby,” Laurel muttered, leaning up against the wall as they waited out the rest of the elevator ride alone.

* * *

The Ruins looked the same as it had the last time the fallen humans had been there. The same purple walls, the same puzzles, even a few of the same monsters who had stayed behind after the barrier broke were all laid out before the six siblings as they traversed their old home. Robin reunited with a Froggit they’d known since they were a child, who told Robin that they hadn’t seen Laurel anywhere in the Ruins.

“It’s only one Froggit’s report,” Robin said encouragingly after they were out of the Froggit’s earshot. “We should still keep searching until we’re sure they’re not here.”

“I mean, this raises a good point. We have no way of knowing if Laurel came to the underground at all,” Alex said. “Maybe we climbed down that mountain for nothing.”

“Ugh, don’t say that, you’re making my muscles sad,” Hop said. Having exerted the most energy during the downward climb into the Ruins, Hop was leaning on Twain for support.

“This is where they went, I just know it,” Bell said, reaching behind a pillar and flipping the correct switch to unlock the next room without even thinking about it. “Where else would they go? Laurel wouldn’t take their chances on the streets, they’d come back to where they felt comfortable.”

“I hope they’re here in the Ruins,” Twain said. “It’ll be a much longer search if we have to cover the entire underground.”

“Let’s not even think of that right now,” Robin said, pointing ahead. “Home is around that corner, let’s go look there.”

The siblings picked up their pace and rounded the next corner. Home was waiting for them right where they’d left it, with its dead tree in the center of the front yard waiting to welcome them back. The sight of their childhood home reinvigorated the fallen humans, they felt a newfound confidence that they would soon find Laurel and be able to return to the surface.

As the siblings entered the house, they were each struck by the jarring difference a few years of absence made. While the rest of the Ruins remained the same, the house they’d all shared looked so different now that there wasn’t a family to fill it up with. All of the furniture had been moved out when their family had moved out, only a few flower pots and a couple stray piles of discarded papers remained. Every scrap of artwork the children had made over the years was tucked away in their home on the surface. The personal touches that had made that house a home were long gone, the remnants of the fallen humans’ years spent there covered in a thick layer of dust that Toriel would have never allowed if she were there.

Worst of all, the siblings discovered in their search of the house, that Laurel wasn’t there either. Hop trudged through the empty halls, exhausted from their climb down the chasm. Having given up on finding Laurel in that house, Hop kept their eyes to the ground, watching their aching feet take aimless steps across the dirty floor.

As Hop went to take their next step, the floor beneath them broke open and a familiar golden flower popped up directly in their path. Hop gave a yelp at the sight of Flowy, and their siblings immediately came rushing to see what they’d uncovered in the hopes it was a clue to Laurel’s whereabouts. Flowey was less surprised and more annoyed to see Hop looming above him. Looking past Hop, Flowey sneered as the others came running to see what Hop had found.

“It’s not Laurel.” Hop called over their shoulder. “It’s Flowey!”

“Flowey!?” Robin exclaimed, looking panic-stricken at the prospect of reuniting with their former enemy. The humans sped up, more determined to reach Hop now that they knew who was with them.

“Great, just who I wanted to see right now, the rest of you rotten humans,” Flowey scoffed.

“What do you mean the rest?” Alex, who reached Hop first, asked.

“Have you seen Laurel?” Bell nearly knocked Hop over as they came trotting along after Alex, their eyes fixed on Flowey.

“Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t,” Flowey said. “Either way, I’m not telling you clowns. So there. Languish in uncertainty.” With that, Flowey moved to pop back down into the ground, but Hop had other ideas.

“Oh no you don’t,” Hop said, diving down just in time to catch Flowey around the stem with both hands. Yanking Flowey out of the ground, Hop held the squirming flower out in front of them.

“Ugh, that’s the second time today you humans have uprooted me!” Flowey snarled.

“Wait, the second time?” Twain repeated. “Who did it the first time?”

“Who else could it have been?” Bell said, leaning over Hop’s shoulder to wrinkle their nose at Flowey. “You did see Laurel, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t say that,” Flowey said.

“Come off it, Flowey,” Hop said. “The only reason I thought to do this is because Laurel did it to you when they first fell down.”

“I don’t remember that,” Flowey grumbled.

“Flowey, if you’ve seen Laurel, you have to tell us,” Robin said.

“Actually, I don’t have to tell you guys anything.” Flowey stuck his tongue out, his lips curling with vindictive glee.

“Alright, alright,” Alex stepped up, cracking their knuckles. “There’s only one way to deal with this flower. Everybody stand back, Flowey and I are about to talk this out with a good old fashioned battle.”

“Fine by me,” Flowey said. “Get ready to lose, sucker.”

“No!” Hop clutched Flowey to their chest, shielding him from Alex. Flowey made a noise of disgust, trying to distance himself from Hop as much as possible with his limited range of motion. “We can’t fight him,” Hop continued. “He’s Asriel, remember?”

“He had no problem putting the smackdown on us,” Alex said. “Besides, Asriel told us not to think of that flower as him, so-“

“So we just stoop to his level?” Hop interrupted. “No, there has to be a better way.”

“There is,” Flowey said. “Let me go and I’ll avoid you idiots like the plague. You won’t ever see my face again.”

“Forgive us if we have trouble believing you,” Bell said. “Now, tell us where Laurel is.”

“They’re not in any place you’d think to look,” Flowey said. “You all think you’re such experts on this place, but you’ve got no idea about the secrets hidden all over the underground.”

“Why don’t you tell us before I pluck the petals off your face, then?” Alex threatened. “If Laurel’s in trouble, we need to know where they are.”

“Sucks to be you, I guess,” Flowey said. “Laurel is pissed as hell at you all, they wouldn’t want me telling you.”

“Oh, now you’re so big on what other people want?” Bell scoffed.

“I’m not telling,” Flowey said. “You guys can die mad about it.”

“Fine, don’t tell us. We don’t need your help,” Frisk signed with an angry flick of their wrists. Turning to their siblings, Frisk let go of a sigh and addressed the group. “We can figure this out without him.”

“Looks like we don’t have a choice, either way,” Robin said.

“Good, glad we’re on the same page,” Flowey said. “Now, let me go already.”

“Do you think we’re idiots?” Alex asked.

“Uh, yeah?” Flowey said. “Haven’t I made that clear?”

“We’re not going to let you go just so you can fuck with us ten minutes later,” Alex said.

“It’s not really up to you is it?” Flowey sneered, then turned to Hop with a sappy smile. “Come on, kid, cut your buddy Asriel a break and let me go.”

“I want to trust you, but…” Hop bit their lip and looked to the side. “After everything that’s happened, I don’t think I can take that chance. I’m sorry.”

Flowey let out a melodramatic sigh, flopping his stem back so he was drooped over Hop’s hand in a pathetic manner.

“So what now?” Flowey demanded. “You carry me around like this while you look for your precious sibling? ‘Cause that worked out so well for them.”

“No, we’re not going to do that,” Bell said, stepping in to help Hop. Glancing around the hall, Bell looked for something useful. Their gaze landed on one of the flower pots that had been left behind when their family had moved to the surface. Crossing to the pot, Bell plucked the long-dead plant from the dirt in there and carried the pot over to where Hop stood with Flowey wrapped around their hand.

“You’re about to get potted, Flowey,” Bell said.

“I’m what?” Flowey spat, his petals bristling like a lion’s mane as Bell stepped closer.

Without another word, Bell grabbed Flowey from Hop and thrust him into the flower pot. Flowey spluttered and hissed as he was plunged into the dirt, his roots automatically taking hold of the soil. Bell released their grip on Flowey’s stem as Flowey glared up at her over the edge of the pot. Flowey tried to pop out of sight on instinct, but couldn’t teleport any better than he had been able to when trapped in Hop’s hand. Bell handed the flower pot back to Hop, who held it tight with both arms.

“You’re not going anywhere until we find Laurel,” Bell said. “Now the question is, how are we going to do that?”

“Let’s think about what we know,” Twain said. “Obviously, Laurel’s not in the Ruins or we would have found them by now. So, we can cross this place off our list.”

“Where else would they go?” Alex wondered. “Maybe they went to see Gerson?”

“Gerson’s the curator of the Museum of Monster History on the surface,” Robin said. “He doesn’t live down here anymore. No one does.”

Flowey gave a little snort, rolling his eyes at Robin’s comment. Bell side-eyed Flowey, pouting her lips at the smug look on his face.

“Hold on a second,” Bell said. “Flowey said that Laurel wasn’t in any place we’d think to look.”

“Does that mean they’re not down here?” Twain asked.

“No, I’m pretty sure they are. Otherwise, why would Flowey have said all of that stuff about them?” Bell said.

“Then, where should we look?” Alex asked. “I mean, where is there in the underground that we wouldn’t think to look?”

Flowey gave another snort, but remained belligerently silent.

“Lots of places,” Frisk signed, ignoring Flowey in just as belligerent a fashion as him. “There are tons of hidden places around the underground that we haven’t been to.”

“If we haven’t been to them, how will we find them?” Robin asked.

“We’re going to have to search the entire underground,” Hop said. Flowey let out a groan at the proposition.

“That’ll take forever,” Twain said, picking nervously at their lip. “What if something happens to Laurel if we can’t find them soon enough?”

“We should split up, it’ll go a lot faster,” Alex said.

“But it’s safer if we stick together,” Robin said.

“Rob, look around you, there’s no one down here but us,” Alex reasoned. “It’s not going to be like when we were kids, with monsters attacking us around every corner. This is going to be the most boring search party ever.”

Flowey snorted again. This time, Hop swatted him with their hand.

“Stop doing that,” Hop hissed.

“I’ll stop if you guys stop being a bunch of morons,” Flowey hissed right back.

“If you actually helped us, we wouldn’t have to be,” Hop said.

“Even if that’s true,” Robin said in response to Alex. “I don’t think any of us should go it alone.”

“I agree,” Twain said. “The underground’s not that big. If we split into three groups of two, we can search Snowdin, Waterfall, and Hotland at the same time. There’s no reason for anyone to go off by themselves.”

“Alright, I can live with that,” Alex said. “Who’s going with who?”

“I’ll take Frisk with me. We’ll search Snowdin,” Robin said, putting their arm around their youngest sibling. “Twain, you should go with Alex.”

“Sounds good to me,” Twain said, smiling at Alex, who gave him a thumbs-up.

“We’ll take Waterfall,” Alex said.

“That leaves Bell and Hop to search Hotland,” Robin said.

Bell and Hop glanced at each other, both of them thinking the same thing without the other knowing it. The last thing Bell wanted was to have to babysit a younger sibling, and the last thing Hop wanted was to be babysat by an older sibling. But neither of them said anything, not wanting to start a fight that could delay their search for Laurel further.

“Okay,” Bell said.

“Fine,” Hop said.

“Good, then we’re all set,” Robin said. “Let’s get going. Hopefully, Alex is right and this is the most boring search party ever. I’d hate for anything bad to happen.”

“Come on, Rob, everything will be fine,” Alex said, making their way to the staircase that led down to the Ruins’ exit. “What could possibly go wrong?”

* * *

The elevator door slid open and Laurel stepped out into a dark corridor. The air smelled musty, like an unwashed towel that had been lying on the bathroom floor for far too long. It was almost too dark to see, and Laurel tripped more than once over a raised floor tile.

After walking for a bit, a soft blip sounded in Laurel’s ear. A dim beam of light glowing from a nearby screen that was bolted to the wall cast eerie shadows through the narrow hallway. Laurel readjusted their glasses and read the illuminated words, then sighed. It was Alphys’s journal entries from the determination experiments. The information was nothing new to Laurel, but they read on anyways. Laurel wasn’t exactly sure where they were, and figured any information they might be able to glean from their surroundings would come in handy.

Laurel took a few steps away from the screen, only for another one to light up a few feet ahead. After reading the entry there, Laurel looked around the hallway again. Frisk had been the only one of them to see this place, since the other six had been dead at the time; which would have seemed a weird thought to have if Laurel didn’t know how the magic in the underground allowed certain monsters to bend time and space in ways that were only theoretically possible among humans. Laurel knew that even when certain events had been undone by timeline resets, echoes of those events had a tendency to linger. It was why the effects of the determination experiments still existed in the underground, even though Alphys shouldn’t have had more than one human soul to experiment on in their timeline. Someone else would have been disturbed by the idea that in a different timeline their dead soul had been bled dry for a science experiment, but Laurel had been a part of the monsters’ world for too long to be surprised by such a notion.

Rounding the corner, Laurel found themself in a large room with nothing much to offer except a decrepit vending machine and a large set of metal doors that whooshed open when they walked past. Laurel peered through the open doorway and found another elevator compartment waiting at the end of a short hallway. Curious where the elevator went, Laurel took a step towards it.

“Don’t go in there,” A voice said from behind them.

Laurel screamed, spinning toward the voice. When Laurel turned around, the terror in their heart lessened at the same time the confusion in their mind increased. A human child stood before Laurel, about thirteen years old with brown hair, brown eyes, and rosy cheeks. They were wearing a lime and cream-colored striped shirt, and they smiled when Laurel turned around.

“I mean,” they continued. “There’s so much else to see down here, you should save the best for last.”

Laurel, somewhat recovered from the shock of discovering someone else was down there with them, furrowed their brow at the younger kid. “Who are you?”

“That’s funny, I would’ve thought you’d know.” The other kid’s smile widened, stretching their face in an intentionally creepy way. Laurel, who was used to much worse stunts from their siblings, was unfazed by this kid’s attempt to unsettle them.

“Just answer my question,” Laurel said, crossing their arms over their chest.

The other kid shrugged, then extended one hand towards Laurel.

“Greetings,” they said. “I’m Chara.”


	4. Mysterious Place

“Chara?” Laurel squeaked, their jaw hanging open. “As in ‘the first fallen human’ Chara?”

“In the flesh,” Chara said, gesturing to their incorporeal body. “Honestly, I’m offended you didn’t recognize me. You’re wearing my necklace, after all.”

Laurel’s hand flew to their neck, finding the heart-shaped locket hanging there. The metal seemed to thrum under their fingertips. Laurel was struck by the sudden feeling that they should rip the locket off right then and there; but, not wanting to look ridiculous in front of a thirteen year old, Laurel fought off the urge and dropped their hand back down to their side.

“What are you doing down here?” Laurel asked.

“What are you doing down here?” Chara echoed, a mischievous grin stretching their face.

“I asked you first,” Laurel said.

“I was born first,” Chara countered. “And I died first, so I’ve got you beat there, too.”

“Fine,” Laurel gave a long-suffering sigh. “I was down here having a look around and now, apparently, I’m having a chat with a ghost. Your turn.”

“Same reason, actually. Except not really because you’re alive and I could find my way around this lab blindfolded,” Chara said, walking in a slow circle around Laurel as if appraising them.

“How do you know I’m alive?” Laurel challenged. “I could be a ghost like you.”

“Nice try, but I know all about you Laurel,” Chara said. “You and your siblings are all anyone talks about down here after you broke the barrier. Or at least, that was the case until everyone left.”

“You still haven’t told me what you’re doing down here,” Laurel said. “Wasn’t this place built after you died?”

“No,” Chara laughed like Laurel had just told a really funny joke. “Alphys didn’t invent science, there was another royal scientist before her. He’s probably around here somewhere, too, if you want to meet him. He’s kind of shy, but I have a feeling he’d like you. Come on, I’ll give you the grand tour.”

“I should probably go,” Laurel said, taking a step back the way they’d came.

“What? Don’t tell me you’re scared,” Chara taunted.

“I’m not,” Laurel said, crossing their arms over their chest.

“Then, why do you need to go?” Chara asked. “Come on, no one ever comes down here anymore. Let me show you around.”

Laurel thought over Chara’s offer. It seemed innocuous enough, a kid wanting someone to spend time with them, but Laurel knew enough about Chara to know they were capable of some pretty heavy trickery. Chara themself didn’t seem as if they were going out of their way to present an innocent façade to Laurel, which could either be a sign that they were being truthful or that they were a skilled manipulator. But at the end of their deliberation, Laurel knew that only one factor really mattered: Laurel wanted to spend more time with Chara, and they didn’t care about any potential negative consequences that might come from that.

“Alright,” Laurel said to Chara at last. “Lead the way.”

* * *

Frisk and Robin’s search of Snowdin Forest had been a fruitless endeavor. Not only had they not found a trace of Laurel, but the area was so familiar to them that it seemed there were no unusual places they might uncover. The last stop on their search of the forest before embarking on a search of Snowdin Town, was the small alcove that lay to the right of the frozen lake just before the bridge that led into town. Neither Frisk nor Robin had ever been to the area, so they both hoped that they could find something useful there.

“I think this must be where Bell and Laurel snuck off to when Hop was battling Greater Dog,” Robin said as they crunched through the snow.

“I don’t know if ‘battling’ is the right word for what Hop did,” Frisk signed with a smile.

“You’re right,” Robin laughed. “It was more like aggressive petting.”

The two came to the edge of a drop off where the entrance to a narrow cavern lay. Taking Frisk’s hand, Robin led the way inside. The floor was smooth as glass and sparkling blue in color, each of the humans’ footsteps chiming off of the mirrorlike surface as they walked to the end of the passage. When the long walk ended, Frisk and Robin found themselves in front of a door.

“I remember Bell talking about this,” Frisk signed, wrinkling their brow. “They said the door wouldn’t open.”

“It’s no wonder. There’s not even a handle on this door, just a lock,” Robin said, running their hands over the smooth surface of the door. Looking up, Robin spied something that might be useful. “It looks like there’s a gap above the door we could look through. I’ll boost you up and you tell me if you see anything in there.”

Frisk nodded in agreement, allowing Robin to heft them up so they could poke their nose around at the top of the door. However, when Robin brought Frisk down, Frisk signed that they hadn’t been able to see anything in the darkness.

“Well, if the door can’t be opened and there’s nothing but darkness on the other side of it, then Laurel probably isn’t in there anyways,” Robin sighed. “I guess that clinches it for Snowdin Forest, let’s move onto town.”

Robin and Frisk trudged down the walkway, somewhat disheartened by their search. It felt as if all of the time they’d spent in Snowdin Forest was a waste, and that they were no closer to tracking down Laurel than they had been when they’d started. As the two approached the mouth of the cavern, an arrogant smelling wind blew through the narrow space.

“Eugh, Frisk, what is that?” Robin scrunched their nose in distaste. “It smells like Alex every time they win an argument.”

Frisk raised their hands to reply, but didn’t get a word out before they felt a familiar tug in their chest. Robin must have felt it, too, because they gave a gasp and clutched at the front of their shirt in total surprise. The shadowy walls around the two siblings seemed to grow darker as a monster swooped in out of nowhere, drawing Frisk and Robin into battle.

It was a monster neither Robin nor Frisk had ever seen before. It reminded Frisk of a killer whale, with sweeping pectoral fins and some sort of orb where a caudal fin might have been. Robin, on the other hand, took one look at the monster’s huge grin and instantly thought of Undyne. Trying to take comfort in that association, Robin swallowed their initial shock and gave the monster a friendly wave.

“Hello,” Robin said. “Perhaps you could help us, we’re looking for our sibling. What’s your name?”

“The name’s Glyde,” the monster replied. “Look. Watch. Observe.”

Without further prompting, a hailstorm of star-shaped bullets swept out from the tip of Glyde’s tail. Acting on pure instinct, Robin yanked Frisk out of the way of a particularly large bullet right as it was about to drop on their head. Frisk escaped with a scrape on their elbow, while the word “SICK” blew up in big red letters as the bullet burst apart on the glassy floor.

As the attack ended, Frisk thought about what they could tell about Glyde just from a few seconds of knowing him. From the arrogant smell of the air around him to the wide grin on his face to the ostentatious opening attack, Frisk decided they had a bit of an egomaniac on their hands. Frisk had dealt with similar monsters before, and knew how to get under their skin. Bringing their hands together, Frisk gave Glyde a sloppy round of applause as Robin looked on in confusion.

“Uh, Frisk?” Robin raised an eyebrow, unsure what angle their sibling was playing at.

“OK! I rule! I admit it!” Glyde announced loudly, sucking up Frisk’s praise like a vacuum cleaner.

Glyde unleashed another rain of bullets. This time, Robin got caught in the crosshairs of several small bullets, enduring a few gnarly cuts on their arms, but they’d taken worse damage, so they didn’t make a big fuss about it. Once the attack ended, Robin turned to Frisk for an explanation.

“He just wants attention,” Frisk explaining, signing rapidly before their turn ended.

“Okay, so, shouldn’t we clap again?” Robin asked.

Frisk shook their head. “Don’t do anything.”

Robin, who had no alternate battle strategies to offer, went along with Frisk. The two stood in utter silence, examining their nails and picking at their hair for split ends. Glyde’s eye twitched, his attention shifting between the siblings in search of validation.

“Eh?” Glyde coughed awkwardly. “You forgot to clap.”

Another round of bullets. Frisk and Robin conked heads trying to dodge attacks from different ends of the battlefield, each one ending up with bruised foreheads as a result. The attack ended and, again, Robin and Frisk did nothing. Glyde waved his fins in an exaggerated arc to make himself more visible.

“HELLO?? I’M RIGHT HERE!!!” Glyde shouted.

Frisk and Robin survived another attack from Glyde in much the same fashion as they had the other two. Once the attack ended, Glyde gave an exasperated huff, apparently fed up with the two’s nonplussed reactions.

“Forget you wimps,” Glyde said. “I’m backflippin’ on out of your bad vibes.”

“Wait!” Robin called out. “Before you go, can you tell us if you saw our sibling? They’re tall, they have purple hair, and they wear glasses.”

“Nah bro, I haven’t seen any purple-haired humans ‘round these parts,” Glyde said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m gonna go find someone who deserves to gaze upon these pecs.”

With that, Glyde swooped right back out of sight. Robin stood bewildered in the wake of their encounter with Glyde, unsure if they’d imagined the whole thing or not until Frisk’s hands started flying.

“He was no help at all,” Frisk signed, blowing a frustrated huff of air out through their lips.

“At least we know Laurel wasn’t here for sure now,” Robin sighed, gently prodding a fresh bruise on their forearm. “Let’s go search Snowdin Town, I think we’re done with the forest.”

* * *

Laurel followed Chara through the lab, staring intently at the back of their head. If Laurel squinted, they could see that Chara’s body was the tiniest bit transparent. While Laurel’s footsteps echoed off the metal floor, Chara didn’t make a sound as they walked through the dim hallways. Every few feet, the two would pass a small screen bolted to the wall that would light up as they approached. Although Laurel paused a couple of times to read the green text on the screens, Chara always waved them along.

“Don’t waste your time with that boring junk,” Chara said. “It’s nothing but a catalogue of Alphys’s failed experiments. You don’t need to read about that, just take a look around this dump and you’ll get the picture.”

Laurel did look around. They had crossed into a room filled with musty beds lined up in orderly rows. The sheets were tucked in, but that was about the only nice thing Laurel could think of when looking at the layer of grime that lay over each bed. Chara crossed to the bed that had its covers tucked down and gestured at the lumpy mattress.

“Care for a nap?” Chara asked. “I’ll tuck you in.”

“Uh, no thanks,” Laurel said, walking away from Chara to go towards the doorway on the right wall. Reaching into their back pocket, Laurel took out their notebook and pen, opening to a fresh page. Now that Laurel had gotten over the initial shock of seeing Chara, they were ready to take notes again. “So, have you always been down here?”

“Eh, it’s complicated,” Chara shrugged, quickening their pace to keep up with Laurel’s long strides. “I wasn’t always as awake as I am right now. At first, my soul was being pulled in too many directions for me to take form.”

“Pulled in too many directions?” Laurel repeated the words as they wrote them down. “What does that mean?”

“I thought you were supposed to be the smart one,” Chara giggled, appearing suddenly at Laurel’s shoulder and tapping on their notebook, smudging the ink with their finger. “The scientists pulled out so much of my determination, I was spread out all over the underground. Who needs batteries when you’ve got a human soul, am I right? Between powering the CORE, being used on the amalgamates, whatever’s going on with my weird brother, and being latched onto Frisk; I didn’t have time to get it together and remember I was a person.”

“I thought the CORE was powered by geothermal energy,” Laurel said. They passed a table of golden flowers, and was astonished that they were still in bloom.

“No, it converts geothermal energy into magical electricity. It runs on determination,” Chara said with a roll of their eyes, as if this should have been obvious. “But after you all broke the barrier and everyone left, there wasn’t really that much use for the CORE anymore. It’s still running, but definitely not on the scale it was before.”

Chara and Laurel came to a stop in front of the long wall of mirrors opposite the table of flowers. Laurel observed their own reflection, then looked at Chara in the mirror next to them. When Chara caught Laurel looking at them, they smiled creepily at the teenager. But Laurel wasn’t frightened; instead, they broke into laughter.

“Why do you make that creepy face?” Laurel asked, turning to face the real Chara.

“What creepy face?” Chara shrugged innocently, looking around as if the face in question might be hiding under a flowerpot.

“You know the one,” Laurel said. Contorting their own face, Laurel attempted to mimic the smile Chara kept pulling out to try and unnerve them.

Chara let out a dramatic gasp, pressing an astonished hand to their chest. “Laurel! Why would you make such a creepy face?”

“Oh, shut up!” Laurel rolled their eyes, but they were laughing as they did it. Walking out of the room with the flowers, Laurel headed up to the doorway at the top of the bedroom. Chara and Laurel walked in silence for a while, until Laurel spoke again.

“So, back to the topic of how you’re even here,” Laurel said. “After everyone left and your determination wasn’t really being used anymore, is that when you came back to yourself, so to speak?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah,” Chara nodded. “Once I stopped being sapped of all my own strength, I was able to reform. Before I knew it, I was back at the scene of the crime.” Chara gestured at the lab by spreading their arms wide. “Well, technically, the scene of the crime would be my childhood bedroom, but I can’t really go there.”

Laurel chewed the bottom of their lip, trying to pick out their words carefully before they spoke them. “Frisk never really told us how you died,” Laurel said. “I only know that you, um…Well, you…”

“Killed myself?” Chara finished for Laurel. “You can say it, you won’t hurt my feelings. I’m already dead, aren’t I?”

“I didn’t want to presume anything,” Laurel said. “It’s a sensitive topic. Not everyone’s comfortable talking about it.”

“Yeah, well, don’t worry about me,” Chara said. “Go ahead and ask me about it. I know you want to.”

“Fine,” Laurel said. “How did you do it, then?”

“You really wanna know?” Chara stopped walking, fixing Laurel with an intense stare.

“Yes,” Laurel said, dipping an eyebrow at the shift in Chara’s tone.

“You really, really wanna know?” Chara squinted at Laurel, as if gauging the sincerity of their words.

“Yes,” Laurel said, a little more forcefully. “Why else would I have asked?”

Chara closed their eyes and took a deep breath, nodding their head sagely. Then, their eyes popped open and their face lit up with a grin.

“Then it’s movie time!” Chara cheered, rubbing their hands together in anticipation. Chara turned and bolted down the hall, leaving a befuddled Laurel behind as they rounded the corner. After a second, Chara popped their torso back into view with a laugh in Laurel’s direction. “What are you waiting for? An engraved invitation? Follow me.”

Not knowing what else, Laurel did as they were told. As they followed Chara though, Laurel couldn’t ignore the growing unease gnawing at their gut, telling them to run back to the elevator and leave without looking back. But Laurel pushed the bad feeling aside, telling themself it was just their anxiety causing them to overreact. Everything was fine. Wasn’t it?

* * *

“Beware the man who speaks in hands.”

Bell and Hop exchanged a look from where they stood side by side on River Person’s boat. Bell shrugged as Hop gave an unsure grimace. River Person had a reputation for spouting mystical phrases during their boat rides, most of which made little to no sense. Asking River Person for a clearer meaning was pointless, as they often supplied an even more cryptic message in response.

“Do you know what they mean?” Bell asked Flowey, who was pouting in Hop’s arms.

“How should I know?” Flowey said. “Your whole idiot family speaks in hands, especially Frisk. For all I know, River Person could be talking about one of you.”

“Okay, fine, don’t tell us,” Hop said. “We don’t even want to know.”

“Good,” Flowey said, slumping petulantly over the edge of his flower pot.

River Person coasted their boat to a smooth stop at Hotland’s port. Bell hopped off first, then Hop along with Flowey. Trotting up the stairs, the three of them arrived in the open space before Alphys’s lab.

“Should we start in there?” Hop suggested.

“I guess it’s worth a look, but I really don’t think we’ll find Laurel in there,” Bell said. “They’re not exactly Alphys’s biggest fan.”

“You got that right,” Flowey snorted. “I was with them when they went through here, and they didn’t care for this place at all.”

“Wait, Laurel went through here?” Bell asked. “Then that means they’re somewhere in Hotland, right?”

“Maybe it does, maybe it doesn’t. I’m not saying a word,” Flowey said.

“Aw c’mon, Flowey, give us a hint,” Hop pleaded.

“Alright. Smash this flowerpot to bits and I’ll tell you everything,” Flowey offered.

“Don’t do it, Hop, we’ll find Laurel on our own,” Bell said, snatching Flowey right out of Hop’s hands.

“Hey!” Hop protested, grabbing Flowey back. “I’m the one who caught him, I can handle carrying him.”

“He was trying to trick you,” Bell said.

“I’m not stupid, Bell, I wasn’t going to let him go,” Hop said, looking slightly peeved. Hop wrapped both arms around Flowey’s flowerpot and hugged him close to their chest. “Are we searching the lab or aren’t we?”

“Let’s just take the elevator around Hotland and see what we can find,” Bell said, ignoring Hop’s obviously hurt feelings.

“Fine,” Hop said, striding ahead of Bell to where the elevator sat on L1. The metal doors slid open the second Hop pressed the button on the wall, and Hop stalked into the elevator.

“I don’t get why you’re so mad,” Bell said as they joined Hop in the elevator, pressing the button for R1. “I was just trying to keep us safe.”

“I’m not a little kid, Bell,” Hop said. “I can handle things on my own. I don’t need you to babysit me.”

“If you say so,” Bell said.

The rest of the elevator ride was silent, Bell and Hop avoiding each other’s gaze. When the elevator doors pinged open at R1, Bell left the compartment immediately. Hop went to follow, but paused when Flowey cleared his throat.

“Your shoe’s untied,” he said.

Hop looked down and, seeing that their shoe was in fact untied, bent down to tie it. By the time Hop’s shoe was tied, the elevator doors had closed again. Hop let out an exasperated sigh.

“Bell could’ve bothered to hold them open for me,” Hop muttered, jabbing the button to make the doors open.

“I thought you didn’t need them to babysit you,” Flowey said.

“I don’t,” Hop said, stepping out of the elevator. When Hop came out onto the thin strip of land outside the elevator, they looked around for Bell. But Bell was nowhere in sight.

“Bell?” Hop called. “Did you go ahead without me?”

Hop took a few steps forward, but still saw no sign of their sibling. There was no way Bell could have gone far in the thirty seconds it had taken Hop to tie their shoe. Hop checked the elevator sign to make sure they’d gotten off on the right floor. Nothing else was amiss, except for the fact that Hop couldn’t find their sibling. It was as if Bell had vanished into thin air.


End file.
